Coal-tipple.



PATENTED APR.' 2, 1907.

J. J. FLEMING.

CUAL TIPPLE. AljPLIoATIoN FILED sEPT.1o,19o6.

2 SHEETS-SHEB k J @Oma/ BY v PATENTPD APR. 2, 1907. J. J. PLPMING.

GOAL TIPPLE'.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 10,1906.

2 SHEETS-SHEET z.

WIT/VE [NVE/WOR f Alfomeyg 'Ins NoRRls PETERS no.. wAsHrNcroN, v. c.

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narran srrjns eigenaar rrr-ica;

JOHN J. FLEMING, OF OARRICK, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO PHILLIPS MINE AND MILL SUPPLY CO., OF PITTSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA, A OOR- PORATION OF PENNSYLVANIA.

COAL-TIPPLE.

No. 849,1 i3.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented April 2. 1907.

Application tiled :September 10,1906. Serial No. 334,006.

To @ZZ whom t may concer/n.-

Be it known that I, JOHN J. FLEMING, a citizen of the United States, residing at Oarrick, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Ooal-Tipples, of which the following is a specification.

This invention has relation to coal-tipples, and relates particularly to coal-tipples of the class described and shown in Letters Patent of the United States granted to J. M. Phillips and J. J. Fleming, January 8, 1901, No. 665,463, and in which the larger pieces of coal, known as lump-coal, are passed over a screen into a pivoted two-part and counterweighted basket so arranged that as it is depressed by the weight of the coal it will open automatically and discharge its contents into a car standing beneath the tipple.

In apparatus of the character shown and described in the above-mentioned Letters Patent the basket begins to open simultaneously with the beginning of its downward movement, and consequently as soon as the basket begins to open the coal starts falling into the car, and a part of the coal so falling from the basket is broken, as the basket when it first begins to open is at a considerable height above the bottom of the car.

The present invention has for its object the prevention of breakage of the lump-coal in the manner above described, and consists in the provision of novel means whereby as the basket opens and the coal gradually falls out of the basket it will be received on a pivoted and counterbalanced chute and sustained therein until such time as the weight of the coal in the chute will be sufficient to depress the chute at one end and cause the chute to assume such an angle that the coal will be discharged therefrom into a car arranged below the tipple structure.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, in the several figures of which like reference numerals are used to designate corresponding parts, and in which- Figure 1 is an end elevation of a tipple constructed according to my invention. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same, and Fig. 3 is a plan view of the same with a portion of the supporting-timbers of the structure in section.

1, 2, 3, and 4 designate the vertical timbers of the tipple structure, and 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 the horizontal timbers of the same. These vertical and horizontal timbers are constructed and arranged in the usual and well-known manner and serve to support the screens 11, 12, 13, and 11i and the other appurtenant parts of the tipple mechanism.

A platform 15 is arranged between the vertical timbers of the structure, this platform being suspended by means of rods from the beans of weighing-scale (not shown) in the usual and well-known manner. The platform 15 carries shafts 16, 17, and 1.8. The shaft 17 has near each end a pulley 19, and the shaft 16 has near each end a sheave 20, and a rope or cable 21 passes over each of the pulleys 19 and over each of the sheaves 20 and has attached to its end a heavy counterbalance-weight 22. At or near the center of the shaft 17 a brake-wheel 23 is fixed, this brake-wheel being controlled by any suitable braking mechanism. (Not shown.) The shaft 17 carries drums 24 outside the pulleys 19, these drums ,being of smaller diameter than the pulleys 19, and a chain or cable 25 is attached to each drum and winds around the saine and then passes over a pulley 25, carried by the shaft 18, and depends below the platform and is attached to the basket. The basket is in two sections, (designated, respectively, 27 and 28,) and the section 27 is provided with upwardly and angularly extending arms 29 at each side, while the section 28 is provided with similar arms 30, the arms 29 and 30 being pivotally connected at 31 to a cross-bar 26.

The chains or cables 21 are connected to the cross-bar 26 adjacent to the point of connection of arms 29 30, as shown in Fig. 1,

A cable or chain 32 is attached to the section 28 of the basket at 33, and the opposite end of this chain 32 is attached at 34 to the platform 15.

Below the basket at the juncture of the sections 27 28 an open-ended chute 35 is arranged, this chute being of concaVo-convex form in cross-section and being deeper at one end than at the other, so that when in its normal position-that is, with its upper edges on a horizontal line-its bottom will be slightly inclined, such inclination, however,

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being less than would be sufficient to cause the coal which falls into the chute to slide out of the same.

The shafts 16 and l? each carry a loose pulley, these pulleys being designated, respectively, 85 36, and a chain or cable 87 passes over these pulleys and a weight 3S is attached to that end of this chain or cable which depends from the pulley 36, this weight serving to counterbalance the chute 35 when the latter is empty, but not being sufficiently heavy to counterbalance the combined weight of the chute and the coal when the chute is filled or partially filled witl coal. The chute 35 is attached at its shallower end by means of a chain 39 to the crossbar 26 and is connected at its deeper end by chains i() il to the end of the chain or cable 37. T he chains 40 l1 extend beyond their point of attachment to the chute 35, and their ends are attached, respectively, to the sections 27 28 of the basket, there being sulla cient slack to the chains between their point of attachment to the chute 35 and their point of attachment to the basket-sections to permit of a considerable amount of movement of the chute before the chains become taut.

The apparatus being constructed and arranged as above described operates as fol lows: The lump-coal coming down the screen ll is received in the basket and accumulates at the lowcrmost portion of the same, partly in the section 27 and partly in the section 28. When the basket has received a charge of coal, it is allowed to descend by releasing the brake-wheel 23. rlhe forward end of the basket descends more rapidly than the rear end of the same by reason of the difference in diameter between the pulleys 19 and drums 24., and the tightening of chain 32 opens the basket, allowing the coal to fall gently into the chute 35. The chute 35 descends with the basket, but the coal remains in the chute until such time as the combined weight of the chute and the coal therein is su'liicient to raise the weight 3S, whereupon the deeper end of the chute 35 drops down until the chute assumes such an angle that the coal will slide out of the same and into the car, the chute at this time being at such position that the coal has but a very short distance to fall and breakage of the coal being thereby avoided. charged from the chute 35 the chute is returned to its horizontal position by the weight 38 and the basket and chute are re- As soon as the coal has been dis-V turned to their normal positions by the falling of. the weights 22 22.

ln addition to the function of preventing breakage of the coal the chute 35 serves to direct the coal into the center of the car and obviates any danger of any of the coal being discharged over the sides of the car and greatly facilitates the loading of the car in a proper manner, since all of the coal falling from chute 35 will fall directly into the center of the car.

The angle which the chute 35 assumes when discharging the coal is determined b y the length of the chains 40 il between their points of attachment to the chute and to the basket-sections 27 28, and this angle may be increased or diminished, as may be found necessary, by lengthening or shortening these portions of said chains 40 4l.

Having described my invention, l claim-,-

l. In a coal-loading apparatus, the combination of a pivoted and counterweighted basket, a chute attached at one end to the basket a flexible connection attached to the other end of the chute and a counterbalanceweight attached to said flexible connection.

in a coal-loading apparatus, the combination of a movable basket composed of sections pivotally connected together, means for movably suspending the basket, means whereby the basket `will be automatically opened when it is moved downwardly, a chute suspended below the basket-sections at their juncture and connected at one end to the basket-suspending means, a flexible con nection attached. at one end to the free end of the chute-pulleys over which said flexible connection is passed and a weight connected to said flexible connection to counterbalance said chute.

3. ln a coal-tipple, the combination with a pivoted and counterweighted two-p art weighing-basket, of a pivoted and counterbalanced chute arranged below the weighing-basket and connected to and adapted to move with the basket and to receive the coal therefrom when the basket is opened and the coal discharged therefrom, and subsequently discharge the coal into a car.

In testimony whereof l have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JGHN J. FLEMING.

Witnesses Josnrn B. CoNNoLLY, Trios. A. CoNNoLLY. 

